A 45-year-old part-time caretaker from Lake Elsinore is suspected in the theft of rifles from the Wildomar home of a Marine veteran of three wars who is in his late 80s, sheriff’s officials say.

The weapons were sold to alleged gang members for cash and narcotics, investigators said in a written statement released Tuesday, Nov. 3.

“Shannon Rather … is alleged to have been responsible for stealing (the) rifles,” according to the statement.

The victim is a veteran of World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War, say police, who haven’t released his name or circumstances of the crime, including the number and type of rifles taken.

Rather and three alleged gang members have been arrested, police say.

And on Thursday, investigators say, the Riverside County Regional Gang Task Force served a search warrant along the 5500 block of 42nd Street in Jurupa Valley, where they recovered all but one of the stolen rifles and seized narcotics, identity theft items and a bullet-proof vest.